


With a Little Push

by leezh



Category: Korean Drama, The King: Eternal Monarch, 더 킹：영원의 군주 | The King: Eternal Monarch (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by K-Drama | Korean Drama, Kid Fic, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Parallel Universes, Who takes care of who exactly?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:34:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24369688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leezh/pseuds/leezh
Summary: "Yah, Jo Eun-seob!" Myeong Na-ri scolded him right away. "Check your phone more often! I've been calling and calling, and you did not read my messages too. Where the hell have you been?""Ah, sorry," he relented, mirroring his doppelgänger'ssatooriaccent perfectly.I was busy chasing someone who's not supposed to be here and getting shot at."What's up?"~In which Jo Yeong tries being anoppaand is again bested by the seven-year-old Jo Eun-bi. Who takes care of who, exactly? Happened on Episode 12, directly after Yeong & Shin-jae’s conversation at the hotel.
Relationships: Jo Eun-seob/Myeong Na-ri, Jo Yeong/Myeong Na-ri
Comments: 20
Kudos: 108





	With a Little Push

His right chest still hurt like hell every time he strained his arm's muscles, but Yeong knew that he should get Myeong Na-ri's car back to its owner sooner rather than later. He needed to pick up Jo Eun-seob's twin siblings at the Taekwondo Center anyway, so he grunted through the occasional spiking pain and made it to the Alley all the same, favoring his left arm and thus driving slower than he usually did.

When he went into the cafe, he found its owner fixing him a glare from behind the counter.

"Yah, Jo Eun-seob!" Myeong Na-ri scolded him right away. "Check your phone more often! I've been calling and calling, and you did not read my messages too. Where the hell have you been?"

"Ah, sorry," he relented, mirroring his doppelgänger's _satoori_ accent perfectly. _I was busy chasing someone who's not supposed to be here and getting shot at._ "What's up?"

"One of the kids played around with the equipment when the instructor's not looking, knocking Eun-bi by accident." Na-ri should have registered the alarmed look on his face, because she reassured him shortly after, “Don’t worry, it’s the shin - _or arm or leg, ah, I don’t remember, it’s pretty much the same_ \- pads, and she’s okay.”

As she explained, Yeong heard the sound of the door opening from behind him and was instantly ambushed by the little girl in question, who clung tight to his legs, crying uncontrollably.

Yeong suddenly felt the strongest urge to clock out whoever it was who did such a thing to Jo Eun-bi. Whether it was unintentional, he really did not give a damn.

“She’s very shocked,” Na-ri finished filling him in, her expression was still a bit accusatory.

Yeong crouched down and then patted the little girl’s hair awkwardly as he took note that her face was all screwed up from the crying. He really did not know anything about comforting a kid, his doppelgänger didn’t include it in his “How to Pass as Jo Eun-seob with Flying Colors” manual, but he would guess that it was a good time to just let the little girl cling to him as much as she wanted.

And it seemed to work, as her wailing gradually calmed down although she still clutched onto him tightly. 

The bell at the Alley’s door rang again, and Yeong looked up to see what looked like a bunch of college kids coming in. Aware that they were blocking the counter, he scooped the girl onto his arms and stood up to make way.

His ruptured ligaments got into strong protest upon the sudden strenuous movement. He let out a low, suppressed groan, but steeled on.

Strategically placing the girl on his left arm, Yeong relocated to one of the weaved wooden chairs, before balancing her on his lap.

“Kka-bi will finish in a bit,” Na-ri reminded him. “Do you want something to drink while you wait?”

He was about to refuse her, when something else caught his attention.

The college kids were fooling around among themselves. There was some playful teasing and shoving around, before one of them carelessly threw one of the bubble tea in the air. Presumably, the college kid was aiming for his friends, but Yeong quickly calculated its trajectory and realized that it was coming in his and Eun-bi’s direction instead.

He timed the catch perfectly, but for a second forgot that his right arm was compromised. Yeong winced internally, his whole upper body tensed upon the impact.

One more thing that he forgot to factor in was how sharp the seven-year-old could be.

 _"Oppa_ ,” she finally removed her head from the crook of his neck to look up at him. She continued in between her subdued sobs, “you're hurt?”

Yeong automatically denied it, but the little girl was for sure a worthy opponent. She had already raised up her hand to prod him precisely where it hurt, and even though Yeong tried his best to steel himself, his body betrayed him as he involuntarily grimaced ever so slightly.

“Jo Eun-seob, what happened?”

Yeong cursed internally. Myeong Na-ri had entered herself into the conversation too. He was outnumbered.

It really did not help that the little girl Eun-bi fixed him with _that_ expression on her chubby face. He saw the flashes of fear in her reddened eyes, and the fact that her face was still partly damp from all of crying earlier made Yeong realize that he was once again bested by Jo Eun-seob’s seven-year-old sibling.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” he tried to laugh it off, although his voice came out with a hint of nervousness. “I tripped earlier. It's not a big deal-"

He let out a sharp intake of breath as the little girl in his arms assaulted his clothes then, grazing the tender spot as she was struggling to tug his shirt downward with her tiny hands.

Well, too late. Myeong Na-ri had also caught the glimpses of the black and blue marks on his skin before he could mitigate the situation. "Yah, Jo Eun-seob, what happened to you? That looks bad!"

She pulled his shirt and jacket collar sideways to inspect the bruises more carefully. "It's a nasty one," Na-ri commented. "Stay put, I'll bring you some ice packs."

Yeong sighed. As if he could so much sneak an escape attempt with a certain little girl watching him like a hawk.

~

When Myeong Na-ri told him to go to the Taekwondo Center's back office, Yeong did so dutifully. She also told the twins to wait and play among themselves for a while at the cafe.

"Here," the cafe owner handed him the promised ice pack. She had wrapped it in a small towel.

He pressed the ice pack against his newly acquired bruises. It instantly felt cold upon his skin. "Thanks."

"Yah, use it properly, will you?" Na-ri scolded him again. As he had been further integrated into the life of Jo Eun-seob, he understood more and more that all of those scoldings were such a regular occurrences in his doppelgänger and cafe owner relationship. "Open your shirt," she then said, matter-of-factly.

"Eh?"

"Stop having such a dirty mind," she swatted him hard on his upper left arm. Yeong thought belatedly that the girl should have targeted his uninjured side strategically and he appreciated that thought. "The ice pack's useless if it's not being placed properly. Now, strip."

Yeong assumed that both she and Lieutenant Jeong Tae-eul should have many experiences dealing with Taekwondo or police-work-related injuries beforehand. She seemed to know what she was doing.

Short story short, that was how he ended up shrugging off his jacket and delved in partial nudity in the middle of the Taekwondo Center's back office. Yeong unbuttoned his shirt efficiently, then tugged it off to expose his whole right torso. _Let's get this over with quickly, then._

He watched Myeong Na-ri stop in her tracks, her eyes blinked several times as if she could not believe the sight in front of her. Yeong looked down to wonder whether his bruises looked that bad or hideous to her, because by his standard, it was pretty much average.

"Ah," she stumbled over her words. "H-Here."

She placed the towel-wrapped ice pack against his tender spot, applying perfect pressure, and Yeong instantly appreciated the nice, cool, and numbing sensation it created. He exhaled, instantly comforted. 

They stayed like that for a while, in silence.

After a while, Yeong looked down to notice that Myeong Na-ri had her gaze locked pointedly somewhere on a spot behind him, seemingly refusing to meet his eyes. The fact that her cheeks flushed and her pupils were slightly dilated did not escape his observation too.

Yeong smirked at the realization that _someone_ had just appreciated all of the workouts and the years and years of training that he did.

And also, Jo Eun-seob owed him and Eun-bi, big, _big_ time.

**Author's Note:**

> So, apparently the muses kept on coming. Blame it on both doppelgängers. It's Yeong and Na-ri turn this time!
> 
> Unbeta-ed.


End file.
